Multicast mechanism for wireless devices

Abstract

This disclosure describes methods, apparatus, and systems related to a multicast mechanism. A device may determine a multicast session with one or more multicast devices. The device may determine one or more multicast data frames. The device may determine a conditional block acknowledgment request associated with the one or more multicast data frames. The device may cause to send the one or more data frames to at least one of the one or more multicast devices. The device may cause to send the conditional block acknowledgment request to the one or more multicast devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device, comprising:
 at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and   at least one processor of one or more processors configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
 determine a multicast session with one or more multicast devices; 
 determine one or more multicast data frames; 
 determine a conditional block acknowledgment request or a block acknowledgment request associated with the one or more multicast data frames; 
 cause to send the one or more multicast data frames to at least one of the one or more multicast devices; and 
 cause to send the conditional block acknowledgment request or the block acknowledgment request to the one or more multicast devices based at least in part on the sent one or more multicast data frames. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to identify a block acknowledgment from at least one of the one or more multicast devices. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to identify capability information associated with at least one of the one or more multicast devices. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to determine a buffer size of the at least one of the one or more multicast devices based at least in part on the capability information. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to determine that at least one of the one or more multicast data frames was not successfully received by the at least one of the one or more multicast devices. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to resend the at least one of the one or more multicast data frames to the at least one of the one or more multicast devices based at least in part on the block acknowledgment. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause to send a block acknowledgment request instead of the conditional block acknowledgment request after resending the at least one of the one or more multicast data frames. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to select a new Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) based at least in part on an estimate of data frame error rate using a current MCS. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 9 , further comprising an antenna coupled to the transceiver. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 identifying one or more multicast data frames received from a first device;   identifying a conditional block acknowledgment request received from the first device;   determining one or more missing multicast data frames; and   causing to send a feedback frame to the first device based at least in part on one of the one or more missing multicast data frames.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to further perform operations comprising causing to send the feedback frame within a predetermined time window. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein causing to send the feedback frame within the predetermined time window occurs after a backoff time. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the predetermined time window is associated with the conditional block acknowledgment request. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to further perform operations comprising identifying one or more retransmitted multicast data frames associated with the missing multicast data frames. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to further perform operations comprising determining capability information, including a buffer size associated with the one or more multicast data frames. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to further perform operations comprising causing to send the capability information to the first device. 
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 determining a multicast session with one or more multicast devices;   determining one or more multicast data frames;   determining a conditional block acknowledgment request or a block acknowledgment request associated with the one or more multicast data frames;   causing to send the one or more multicast data frames to at least one of the one or more multicast devices; and   causing to send the conditional block acknowledgment request or the block acknowledgment request to the one or more multicast devices based at least in part on sent one or more multicast data frames.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further including identifying a block acknowledgment from at least one of the one no more multicast devices. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further including determining that at least one of the one or more multicast data frames was not successfully received by the at least one of the one or more multicast devices.